[Leica] "Proper" portrait lens.

[digiratidoc at gmail.com (James Laird)]

Absolutely. I only hope Leica is listening. After bringing out their
tour de force, the M9, what better to top that than a full frame
digital CL? Hell I'd buy one, I don't care if it cost $1000;~)

Jim Laird

On Sun, Nov 7, 2010 at 11:52 AM, Lawrence Zeitlin <lrzeitlin at gmail.com> 
wrote:
> The "proper" 35 mm frame portrait lens is based on two assumptions. First,
> that when shooting at a distance of a dozen feet or so, you want the head 
> of
> the subject to fill most of the frame; and second, that a lens in the 75 to
> 105 mm range has a perspective similar to that of the normal eye. Both
> assumptions are not quite as valid today as they were 50 years ago. Films
> (and digital sensors) are better and will stand greater enlargement. Hence 
> a
> small part of the image of a 50 mm lens can provide adequate resolution for
> a normal sized print. Second, we have become used to the perspective
> distortions of close up or long range photography. They are attention
> getting.
>
>
> When the Leica CL came out in the 1970's, Leica claimed that the 40 mm
> Summicron-C and the 90 mm Elmar-C would suffice for 90% of the pictures 
> that
> the average photographer would take. This is one of Leica's few PR
> statements that I've found to be reasonably true. ?I traveled the world 
> with
> a very lightweight Leica CL kit and rarely felt the need for additional
> lenses. I even sold a number of the pictures. Of course this was in the era
> before the super wide angle fad. Now I might add a 28 mm lens and finder.
> Otherwise I would concur with Ted that the best portrait lens is the one 
> you
> have on the camera when the opportunity presents itself. Actually, I never
> bought the 90 mm Elmar since I already had a superb and razor sharp 100 mm
> LTM Canon 3.5. Fitted with an adaptor flange it was lighter and matched the
> RF frame lines better than the Leica lens.
>
>
> Too bad that Leica (or Sony which now owns Minolta's camera business) never
> saw fit to adapt the CL for digital. A full frame digital CL would blow 
> away
> the Olympus and Panasonic pretenders.
>
> Larry Z
>
> - - - - -
>
> The argument over the "proper" focal length for portraits on the 24x36
>
> format ?has been going on in 35mm since the Zeiss Contax camera came 
> out....
>
>
> 90mm ? ?( Leica RF)
>
> 85mm ? ( Contax RF)
>
> 105mm ? ( Nikon RF and later the Nikon F)
>
> 75mm ? (Leica RF)
>
> 80mm ? (Leica SLR)
>
> 100mm ? ( Leica SLR)
>
>
> And I probably have forgotten a bunch more portrait lens focal lengths....
>
> almost all of which are between 75 and 105mm
>
>
> Use what you have, what makes you happy, or what you can afford.....
>
>
> They all work.
>
>
> Frank Filippone
>
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